Town’s arch nemesis David Nugent got his customary goals – the first two as Town simply capitulated in a way that has become far too familiar in the last 18 months.

The City striker opened the scoring from the penalty spot after just seven minutes when Danny Higginbotham tried to shepherd the ball back to Stephen Henderson but the alert Lloyd Dyer nipped in and was felled by the Town keeper.

It was a poor moment of indecision and Nugent struck the penalty home with aplomb.

Town were shell-shocked, Leicester’s tails were up, and the home side doubled their advantage on 18 minutes.

Man-of-the-match Martyn Waghorn shot was parried by Henderson and Nugent was on hand to bundle home the rebound.

Smelling blood, City showed no signs of letting up while Ipswich offered precious little.

The third duly followed in the 27th minute as Dyer exchanged passes with Danny Drinkwater, burst past new signing Bradley Orr and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.

In the final minute of a grim half, Dyer again exposed Orr and his low cross was turned in by the waiting Anthony Knockaert.

Lee Martin volleyed a shot wide as Ipswich finally threatened before the half-time whistle, but any hope of improvements in the second 45 minutes quickly ended.

Just eight minutes had elapsed when the fifth goal flew in, Andy King’s defensive-splitting pass perfectly curled home by Waghorn.

It was all Leicester with Town finally getting a shot on target in the 71st minute, but sub Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’ effort lacked pace.

At the other end, City always looked like taking advantage of the visitors’ threadbare defence and it was six in the 82nd minute when more great work by Dyer ended with Marko Futacs rolling the ball into the net.

Sub Michael Chopra finally got the ball into the home net but was adjudged to have been offside before the striker headed over after Emmanuel-Thomas knocked back Edwards’ cross.

It ended a thoroughly depressing and worrying 90 minutes for Ipswich Town.

I wonder if ALL the players recognise their contribution to our sorry situation. Difficult again to identify one average performance, let alone one that was good. Must do better, but can only do better if they are capable of better? Used to have players with grit and steel, now where are such players? You simply cannot build a team or a season on loan players and short term plans. Better to blood our own in preparation for League One (if this is our destiny) rather than lose opportunity and experience to players who have no allegiance, loyalty or commitment to the club. Here today, gone tomorrow players for a team that is going nowhere. We have to build a team on strong foundations - around a core of exceptional permanent players and leaders. Don't need to be a football pundit or coach to see the obvious, yet when did we last have such leadership and core at the heart of our team? This would take real commitment and real investment. We needed to invest last May and June, (forget the previous annual mistakes) - so one very simple and direct question arises. Namely, why did we not bring in at least one dynamic, credible, skilful, mid career, permanent leadership quality player to build our team around last July and August? Can anyone answer that direct and simple question without saying.... there were no players that fit that set of criteria available? Something seriously worrying about this fundamental starting point.

Come on Kevin, be fair, Norwich played six times in Europe and lost twice at home to Inter, in the third round, which they cite (along with the open bus tour for losing in the play-off final) a major, era-defining success. We won't mention that we have played over 40 matches in Europe, never lost at home, in each of the three major European competitions, winning one of them....

Seriously any of you getting onto MM for this joke of a team is embarrassing. How can he seriously be expected to turn around the worse Ipswich team of all time assembled by the great PJ in 21 months within 2 weeks..

Should anybody be remotely interested, and by the way, you should all be:
McCarthy – played 4, points 6, goals for 3 – against 12.
Hollaway – played 4, points 12, goals for 12, against 1.
Great appointment especially when the other guy was available and wanted the job!!

FXT - if providing England's two greatest managers, a number of captains, winning three major trophies and being a top European side for for over 10 years, etc etc is not class, where on earth by your own definition does that leave Norwich? And to compare Town to Oldham Athletic is, quite frankly, ludicrous.

I believe in MM, but can't understand him dropping Tommy Smith when in the previous game he was outstanding. Also can anyone tell me the last time Lee Martin had a good game..? It is obvious to me that although our defense is c#@p the midfield is even worse. It provides no cover for the defense and no ammo for the forward line and also doesn't score anywhere near enough goals and by the way the goalie's pretty useless as well. All in all , not too much to get over excited about.

Finding solace in the dusty ITFC trophy cabinet is rather like continuing to enjoy Henry V's supremacy at Agincourt. Very worthy but not really of our time. This gang of individuals masquerading as ITFC were appalling yesterday. I saw it. Ghastly. I can only imagine how awful Birmingham and Burnley must be. Rhodes and a late one in Bristol saved this shower's bacon on the day. To the man from Florida, have you spotted the gaping hole in your argument yet?

Tom, my point was that all that is history, yes you may have had two Managers who managed England and have been Knighted and I remember the days when there were four or five players in the England team. Although NCFC may not have had that or won the trophies you have, the two clubs are light years apart at the moment and i don't mean leagues but they way they are run and the spirit amongst the team.
The proud history you have is not be forgotten but the glory days are gone. A lot can happen and no one can predict the future so if in a few seasons the tables are turned then so be it. No team has a God given right to be in the Premiership based on past sucess.

Florida boy1 and others fans are so fickle .what do you expect from mick McCarthy he has a squad so bad that it is worse than the team back in 199091 season under John lyall when we got beat 9-0 at man it'd and when a journalist was interviewing Alan shearer and shearer said there are no easy games in premier league apart from ipswich.mick McCarthy has no choice but pick what he has he is doing a good job from a very poor and bunch of useless players as far as I am concerned. This is all clergy and evens fault should of got rid of jewell end of last season .i think we will get relegated and then McCarthy can get rid of all the players jewell signed then start a fresh. Div 1 does not bother me as I love ipswich it did not do Norwich or nottm forest any harm .look any team with -25 goal difference are in trouble cannot think of any team in past in championship who have had a worse goal difference than us and have stayed up.all I want more than anything is clegg evens to go.

Kevin Baile; yawn, yawn, yawn, yawn. Forever bleating on about the past (the distant past at that). I wasn't even born when you last won anything so I don't care. All I care about is the here and now. City are in the Prem, beating Arsenal and Man Utd, you're in the Chumpionship (for now!!) and getting spanked every week. We've never laughed so much. You're embarrassing. If we stay up(big if admittedly) we're gonna be loaded with the new TV deal. Still, at least you have a trophy in that cabinet, getting dustier and dustier. City!

Stephen Davis, you may not have been born when Ipswich last won a major trophy, yet nobody has been alive to see Norwich win one.
Ad this is an ITFC forum, it seems reasonable for the Norwich fans who have a chip on their shoulder, and need to post on here, to get some stick.
If you count winning the play offs at Wembley as a major trophy, we did that 12 years ago, so that makes you eleven.

Bags unpacked, thank-you cards written, suit back to Coes.....Yes The Honeymoon is over for Mick!! Now lets beat Peterboro & Forest & throw a big bucket of cold water of those relegation fears. Keep the faith. BLUE ARMY.

embarresed to be out last night, all the stick i took was humiliating. What is happening with our team. No team concedes goals like we do, not even San Marino, Luxembourg, or the Faroe Islands.
Cant believe that whoever is in charge there they cant stop our defense leaking goals as badly as we do.
It hurts when you see the canary supporters chirping on this noticeboard as often as they do, a bunch of supporters who we are ten times better than they are.
Why cant we sort our defense out from the goalkeeper, full backs, central defenders, any of them. I am pretty sure that if Mick Mccarthy had been here at the start of the season then we wouldn't be in the position that we now find ourselves in. However, give him some time and he will get us up the table.

Kevin Baily - Living in the past..Club deep in debt to owner, an army of loan players. Nothing will change until executive changes are made before it's too late. Norwich 13th and will be debt free next season. Be years before ITFC will be in same position. SHAME.

Stephen, as you well know, form is temporary, class is permanent. Are you seriously celebrating being a mediocre, also-ran premiership team? If so, it says everything we need to know about your little club. You do realise that another club in these parts won the League, FA Cup, UEFA Cup, gave England its two greatest managers and provided England captains, don't you, within living memory? You do appreciate that we can have statues of national football icons around our ground, whereas you can only name a stand after Barclays Band. You say you only care about the here and now, but that is because you have no history and think that being a mid-table Prem side is a major achievement. Sure, our side is an embarrassment right now, no doubt about that, but you'll never change the fact that we are the only club that put East Anglia on the map, that has history and heritage and proud tradition flowing in our blood, and that is what makes us proud to wear the badge, even when the current bunch of players are not fit to play on the same surface that saw Beattie, Wark, Mariner, Muhren and co. The fact is that Norwich will be relegated at some point or another, as history shows, and neither club will have a chance of repeating the glory of Ramsey or Robson ever again. So on that front, we'll always win.

clever canary...Norwich..league titles 0, FA Cups 0, European Trophies 0, Total 0. ITFC 1,1,1, total 3.
Apart from the fact that clever canary is an oxymoron, you have the smallest trophy cabinet in East Anglia, and the biggest chip on your shoulder.

Tom, what utter rubbish. Class? you have no class.
Preston, Oldham and others have had great success in the past but not now. What about Forest? If ITFC go down to League 1 (which i hope they do) they will not get sucessive promotions. Live in the past and remember the good old days, they are gone, same as your club.

Assuming Leicester played 11 players to Town's five (or was it four?), it is not perhaps entirely surprising that they ended up six goals better off. Mick the Man shoul try reversing the suicidal policy of mass recruitment of temporary mercenaries and give Town players a try. It can hardly be worse - and as relegation is all but impossible, despite the eye-watering goal difference in such a poor division, it might actually mean something when Town stay up.

Tom, what utter rubbish. Class? you have no class.
Preston, Oldham and others have had great success in the past but not now. What about Forest? If ITFC go down to League 1 (which i hope they do) they will not get sucessive promotions. Live in the past and remember the good old days, they are gone, same as your club.

Jonas, I can assure you that I am not in any way bitter. Norwich were a little lucky to get promoted to the Premiership, yet deserved to stay up last year.
I have pointed out that we have won 3 major trophies in response to the pedantic posts of some Norwich supporters on here, an ITFC forum, and as such, that is quite reasonable.
I do not seek to prove wh is the better club as you put it.
The facts are very simple, as based on winning things that matter, Ipswich are far and away ahead of Norwich.
Based on the way each club is being run, Norwich are light years ahead of Ipswich, and have managed to keep the community feel to the club, which is important.
Based on which club is bigger, then frankly, they are similar.
I am angry at the way ITFC has been run under Evans, yet what is there to be bitter about?
Nothing.

Tom.Kevin your bitterness is a throw back to the Seventies.Time has moved on. You cannot prove who is the better club by past glories.Be fair, both clubs have won trophies at wembley, and played in Europe. What matters is now, and to be honest bickeringlike children over the past cannot cover up the fact that Norwich are where they are on merit and Ipswich are where Norwich were 4 seasons ago. You should nevertheless be wise to the fact that what goes around can also come around.

whymarkmariner - agree with our comments, but Smith wasn't 'dropped' as such - he has been away with New Zealand and only returned after a long flight on Friday. MM said last week that he would have to look at whether Smith would be fitfresh enough to play and it seems he wasn't. Having said that IMO anyone would be better than Chambers and as for Higginbotham ... ! This utter shambles - left by PJ - will take months, if not years to sort.

Hugely disappointing and worrying yesterday but whilst I had hoped that Holloway would be the new manager I don't think you can bring comparison between the records of him and McCarthy over their first four games in charge. Holloway inherited a good side, McCarthy did not. Quite what Freedman thought he was doing leaving for Bolton only he knows! My view is that the damage to this club has been done over a period of time by Keane, Jewell and Clegg between them and it won't be resolved overnight. I am happy that we got 6 points from the last four games but alarmed at the size of the two defeats particularly as yesterday we had but a single attempt on goal. Leicester has six shots on target and all went in. I’m wondering where the goalkeeper was? However, fans must give McCarthy some space and hope that he has done enough by January to be in with a chance of survival and that he is then given the support in the transfer market and is able to attract the right players to a club which will still no doubt be in a very perilous position.

Quite shocking on a day that those 40 miles up the A140 had a stunning result. This is clearly a poor squad of players whch MM must address soon. Leicester achieved thus without Wellens even being in the eighteen. However, he might have taken back some useful insider information although I doubt if this was needed. How much longer are we going to suffer other sides cast offs. Higginbottom, Henderson, Murphy and Reo-Coker need to be sent on their way and possibly Orr as well although may be worth giving him another game or two. I have faith in MM to sort it out given time but time is not on his side. However, I hope he now gives more of our own players more of a chance to prove themselves in a settled team. For me he should try Cresswell, Smith, Chambers and Hewitt at the back, Lee Barratt in goal and Hyam back in midfield with Martin, N'Daw and Edwards. I'd hang on to DJ Campbell hoping he will get the right service from this midfield quartette but really don't know who should partner him from the players currently available.Lets hope for some magic against Peterborough.

Stephen, by your logic, no club could ever be associated with any of its players or managers who achieved great things there. As you well know, Ramsey achieved incredible success at Ipswich using tactics that he also applied to win the World Cup, and the same applied to Robson. That takes nothing away from the men themselves, but clearly there is a strong link with Ipswich given it was here that they earned the right to manage the national team. Either of those achievements alone eclipses anything Norwich have ever done.